The report comes as federal and state foresters ramp up logging to combat the beetle epidemic, which has ravaged more than 5 million acres of forest in Colorado and other Western states.

Federal authorities have allocated $40 million for hazard-tree removal on national forests in the Rocky Mountain region; $30 million of that will be spent in Colorado.

Other federal and state funds have been allocated to help landowners clear dead pines on private property.

Tree-thinning projects are touted for the jobs they create and for improving forest health.

CSU forestry professor Bill Romme, whose research was cited in the report, said the conclusions agree with a growing body of research indicating “that beetle outbreaks do not increase the fire risk substantially.”

Government foresters supervising tree-thinning say the problem is what happens after beetle-killed pines fall.

“That can make a fire more intense, there’s so much material accumulated, and it can burn longer,” said Joe Duda, forest management division supervisor for the Colorado State Forest Service.

Bruce Finley covers environment issues, the land air and water struggles shaping Colorado and the West. Finley grew up in Colorado, graduated from Stanford, then earned masters degrees in international relations as a Fulbright scholar in Britain and in journalism at Northwestern. He is also a lawyer and previously handled international news with on-site reporting in 40 countries.

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